Possible rat fleas?

Question
Two months ago I inherited a pet rat from a neighbor.  The rat seems to scratch herself quite frequently, and I am hoping she does not have fleas.  How can I tell, and what do I do if she does?  Also, can I bathe this rat?
Thanks!
Debbie

Answer
Hi Debbie

Rats dont usually carry fleas but they can have fur mites.

What you can do is purchases revolution from the vet but never use any over the product flea treatments and never use powders etc...this will kill the rat since it contains certain pesticides. Although revolution does kill parasites it is still safer to use on rats. All you need to do is measure a tiny drop and put it between the shoulder blades. The kitten strength is what to buy.

However, rats do not always have parasites to be itchy. A high protein diet can also be at fault.

Check out my  website on rat care. Since being here on this site helping all of you, I have changed my website around alot to accomodate the newer rat owner.  I have found many people ask the same things, from rats and itching to diet to tumors and respiratory infection and sneezing and also the number one problem I hear about most is the shy or biting rat.  On my site I made several pages addressing all of these issues and it seems to be very helpful to others at their wits end with rat health issues.  Here is the link to my site and I will give you the direct link to the site about itching and scratching here:

http://www.freewebs.com/crittercity/skinproblems.htm

Hope this helps and if you have more questions feel free to ask!

Sandra